'Recipe for disaster:' Why are there 75 tons of illegal fireworks sitting in a warehouse?
Talk about an explosive situation: Los Angeles firefighters are anxiously monitoring a warehouse filled with 75 tons of confiscated illegal fireworks sitting alongside 27 pallets of flammable hand sanitizer.
Authorities want to move the potentially deadly combination from the warehouse in Commerce, California, where it has been sitting since May, but say they need federal permission and assistance because of the risk. Federal officials told Los Angeles County firefighters they couldn't move the fireworks until August, hauling them through Los Angeles in semitrucks.
"This is a recipe for disaster, and it needs to be dealt with immediately," Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn said in a statement.
Officials are particularly anxious about the risk because an explosion July 1 at a fireworks facility in rural Esparto, California, killed seven people and ignited a brush fire in the Northern California town. And three LA County sheriff's detectives were killed July 18 in an explosion at a training facility.
The seizure is the largest in California history, state Fire Marshal Dan Berlant said, with 250 tons initially confiscated. A significant amount of that has already been removed and rendered safe, but 75 tons remain. Hahn, Berlant and LA fire officials have asked the EPA to speed up removal of the remainder, which is the equivalent of more than 35 midsize SUVs.
"While we believe that the circumstances that led to the explosion in Northern California have been mitigated or are not present at the City of Commerce warehouse … it is understandable that the Northern California incident has raised concerns about the continued presence of the items remaining in the Commerce warehouse," Berlant advised the EPA.
Hahn's office said the EPA is considering relocating the explosives to the China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station in the Mojave Desert, about 150 miles from Los Angeles. China Lake is a significant Navy explosives training site and has hazardous materials disposal capabilities, authorities said.
Most fireworks are illegal in Los Angeles, and authorities said the importer was "not following regulations" as required by its fireworks license. CalFire licenses fireworks, displays and distributors, and the agency said fireworks over the past 10 years have caused more than $43 million in damage across California.
Citing the ongoing investigation, the LA office of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms declined to comment.
This story has been updated with additional information.